Brighton Collaboration Viral Vector Vaccines Safety Working Group (V3SWG) standardized template for collection of key information for benefit-risk assessment of live-attenuated viral vaccines.

Several live-attenuated viral vaccine candidates are among the COVID-19 vaccines in development. The Brighton Collaboration Viral Vector Vaccines Safety Working Group (V3SWG) has prepared a standardized template to describe the key considerations for the benefit-risk assessment of live-attenuated viral vaccines. This will help key stakeholders assess potential safety issues and understand the benefit-risk of such vaccines.

The Brighton Collaboration standardized template for collection of key information for benefit-risk assessment of inactivated viral vaccines.

Inactivated viral vaccines have long been used in humans for diseases of global health threat and are now among the vaccines for COVID-19 under development. The Brighton Collaboration Viral Vector Vaccines Safety Working Group (V3SWG) has prepared a standardized template to describe the key considerations for the benefit-risk assessment of inactivated viral vaccines. This will help key stakeholders to assess potential safety issues and understand the benefit-risk of the vaccine platform.

The Brighton Collaboration standardized template for collection of key information for benefit-risk assessment of protein vaccines.

Several protein vaccine candidates are among the COVID-19 vaccines in development. The Brighton Collaboration Viral Vector Vaccines Safety Working Group (V3SWG) has prepared a standardized template to describe the key considerations for the benefit-risk assessment of protein vaccines. This will help key stakeholders to assess potential safety issues and understand the benefit-risk of such a vaccine platform.

Correction to: Developing vaccines against epidemic-prone emerging infectious diseases.

In the original publication of this article, the author name Richard Hatchett was incorrectly published.

Developing vaccines against epidemic-prone emerging infectious diseases.

Today's world is characterized by increasing population density, human mobility, urbanization, and climate and ecological change. This global dynamic has various effects, including the increased appearance of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs), which pose a growing threat to global health security.Outbreaks of EIDs, like the 2013-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa or the current Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), have not only put populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) at risk in terms of morbidity and mortality, but they also have had a significant impact on economic growth in affected regions and beyond.

Influenza Vaccine Research funded by the European Commission FP7-Health-2013-Innovation-1 project.

Due to influenza viruses continuously displaying antigenic variation, current seasonal influenza vaccines must be updated annually to include the latest predicted strains. Despite all the efforts put into vaccine strain selection, vaccine production, testing, and administration, the protective efficacy of seasonal influenza vaccines is greatly reduced when predicted vaccine strains antigenically mismatch with the actual circulating strains. Moreover, preparing for a pandemic outbreak is a challenge, because it is unpredictable which strain will cause the next pandemic.

Assembly Pathway of Hepatitis B Core Virus-like Particles from Genetically Fused Dimers.

Macromolecular complexes are responsible for many key biological processes. However, in most cases details of the assembly/disassembly of such complexes are unknown at the molecular level, as the low abundance and transient nature of assembly intermediates make analysis challenging. The assembly of virus capsids is an example of such a process.

Tandem fusion of hepatitis B core antigen allows assembly of virus-like particles in bacteria and plants with enhanced capacity to accommodate foreign proteins.

The core protein of the hepatitis B virus, HBcAg, assembles into highly immunogenic virus-like particles (HBc VLPs) when expressed in a variety of heterologous systems. Specifically, the major insertion region (MIR) on the HBcAg protein allows the insertion of foreign sequences, which are then exposed on the tips of surface spike structures on the outside of the assembled particle. Here, we present a novel strategy which aids the display of whole proteins on the surface of HBc particles.

Vaccine-induced early control of hepatitis C virus infection in chimpanzees fails to impact on hepatic PD-1 and chronicity.

Unlabelled: Broad T cell and B cell responses to multiple HCV antigens are observed early in individuals who control or clear HCV infection. The prevailing hypothesis has been that similar immune responses induced by prophylactic immunization would reduce acute virus replication and protect exposed individuals from chronic infection. Here, we demonstrate that immunization of naïve chimpanzees with a multicomponent HCV vaccine induced robust HCV-specific immune responses, and that all vaccinees exposed to heterologous chimpanzee-adapted HCV 1b J4 significantly reduced viral RNA in serum by 84%, and in liver by 99% as compared to controls (P=0.

Biomarkers for the development of cancer vaccines: current status.

Significant improvements in our knowledge of tumor immunology have resulted in more sophisticated vaccine approaches for the treatment of cancer. However, research into biomarkers that correlate with the clinical outcome of immunotherapy has lagged behind vaccine development. To this extent, very few immunological or other markers exist that can be used in clinical trials for immunotherapy.

Biomarkers for development of cancer vaccines.

The search for molecules that correlate with cancer progression is an evolving and exciting area of research. Such biomarkers have utility in a number of areas, most notably in a variety of clinical development programs. Modern technologies are revealing multiple potential biomarker candidates.

The biological effects of syngeneic and allogeneic cytokine-expressing prophylactic whole cell vaccines and the influence of irradiation in a murine melanoma model.

Allogeneic whole tumour cell vaccines are inherently practical compared with autologous vaccines. Cell lines are derived from allogeneic tumour, grown in bulk and then administered as a vaccine to the patient, following irradiation, which not only prevents any replication but also enhances antigen presentation. Protection is believed to occur through the presentation of antigens shared between the syngeneic and allogeneic tumours.

Novel immunotherapeutic approaches to prostate cancer.

Immunotherapy offers new and exciting therapeutic options for patients with late-stage prostate cancer. While the concept of using the immune system to combat cancer is not new, it is only in this post-genomics era that the realistic possibility exists of effectively harnessing the immune system against disease. Immunotherapies can be loosely divided into three major categories: non-specific immune stimulation, specific target antigens and whole-cell approaches.

Allogeneic tumor-dendritic cell fusion vaccines for generation of broad prostate cancer T-cell responses.

Antigen-loaded dendritic cells (DC) are considered potent stimulators of protective immunity. In some studies, DC hybridized with tumor cells have shown promising antitumor responses in mice as well as in humans. A practical drawback of this approach is the limited availability of autologous tumor samples.

Dendritic cell immunotherapy for urological cancers using cryopreserved allogeneic tumour lysate-pulsed cells: a phase I/II study.

Objective: To assess the feasibility, toxicity and immunogenicity of dendritic cell (DC)-based immunotherapy in patients with advanced urological cancers.

Patients And Methods: Patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer (11) and metastatic renal cell carcinoma (five) received 1-3 x 10(6) intradermal allogeneic tumour lystate-pulsed DCs fortnightly for six vaccinations then monthly until disease progression. Intradermal keyhole limpet haemocyanin was injected near the DCs as the adjuvant.

Cancer immunotherapy: an embarrassment of riches?

There is clear evidence that certain forms of immunotherapy can be successful against certain cancers. However, it would appear that cancerous cells of various origin are exceptionally adept at subverting the immune response. Consequently, it is probable that the most efficacious therapy will be one in which multiple responses of the immune system are activated.